UBC LIBE 463

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In my teaching experience at my present school, I have always turned to the teacher-librarian for guidance and support when preparing research projects. She has proved to be an invaluable resource as she has always provided me with the resources necessary to meet my planning needs. As for my students, the teacher-librarian advises them in all three ways of helping students in the library presented by Riedling in Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Ready-Reference, Research Projects, and Reader’s Advisory. These three ways of helping the students resonate with me through my experiences in my teaching and collaboration with my current school teacher-librarian.

1. Ready-Reference – questions that can be answered with short and factual information;
2. Research Projects – in-depth coverage of a topic often requiring the use of multiple sources of information;
3. Readers’ Advisory – recommending good leisure reading. (Reidling, 2013, p. 104-105)

The teacher-librarian provides Ready-Reference to the students by answering their questions about the location of books and performs Reader’s Advisory by asking them questions about what they like to read about, what their interests are and leading them to the books. The teacher-librarian is accessible and approachable. She takes the time to make the necessary connections with the students. She conducts reference interviews clearly and the students feel that she genuinely cares about what they are looking for. Although there are many students that need help in the library, genuine listening takes place and the contact with the students ends in a positive experience for the student. This is consistent with Reidling’s statements about effective communication.

“Verbal skills essential when conducting the reference interview include the following: positive (respectful) responses, motivational words (encourages), verbal reflection, positive reactions, avoiding premature answers, diagnoses (or opinions), restating or paraphrasing content, remembering, open questions, and closure. Talk to the student as if they are important and welcomed; take all questions seriously. (Reidling, 2013, p.102)

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Recently, my teacher-librarian demonstrated pro-activeness. I was pleasantly surprised when she approached me wondering if I was interested in collaborating on a project with her and the grade 6 teacher.  The process she used and the attention I experienced relates to the collaborative planning process that Haycock identifies:

• Objectives
• Content
• Sequence
• Methodology
• Activities
• Evaluation (Haycock, 2007, p. 25-35)

The teacher-librarian first verbally explained what the project would entail. She scheduled a planning meeting at a convenient time for me to discuss project objectives, content, relation to the curriculum, work period scheduling, timeline, the activities that the students would participate in and a rubric for assessment. When the time came to start the project, she was prepared with an outline for the students and an activating lesson about how to question appropriately. She provided reference books on the topic and during student work periods she was present to offer the students assistance in sifting through online information. She also offered Website suggestions where the students could find the answer to some of their questions. The TL made herself available to answer student and teacher questions and lastly, to troubleshoot any laptop technical issues. I truly appreciated seeing the process in action. What I really appreciated was that the TL prepared an inquiry project planning sheet for the students to guide them through the inquiry process.

The TL at my school truly is a leader. Her values are evident through her interactions with the students and the quality of collaboration experienced by the teachers. It is evident that she is working towards attaining her vision for the school library and the students. The TL understands the curriculum, the student’s needs and serves as a great role model for every member of the school.

References

Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. “Reference and the School Library: An Overview.” Reference Skills for the School Library: Tools and Tips, 3rd ed., 2013.

Ken Haycock. “Collaboration: Critical success factors for student learning” School Libraries Worldwide 13.1 (2007): 25-35

Image by Pixabay

In my teaching experience at my present school, I have always turned to the teacher-librarian for guidance and support when preparing research projects. She has proved to be an invaluable resource as she has always provided me with the resources necessary to meet my planning needs. As for my students, the teacher-librarian advises them in all three ways of helping students in the library presented by Riedling in Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Ready-Reference, Research Projects, and Reader’s Advisory. These three ways of helping the students resonate with me through my experiences in my teaching and collaboration with my current school teacher-librarian.

1. Ready-Reference – questions that can be answered with short and factual information;
2. Research Projects – in-depth coverage of a topic often requiring the use of multiple sources of information;
3. Readers’ Advisory – recommending good leisure reading. (Reidling, 2013, p. 104-105)

The teacher-librarian provides Ready-Reference to the students by answering their questions about the location of books, and performs Reader’s Advisory by asking them questions about what they like to read about, what their interests are and leading them to the books. The teacher-librarian is accessible and approachable. She takes the time to make the necessary connections with the students. She conducts reference interviews clearly and the students feel that she genuinely cares about what they are looking for. Although there are many students that need help in the library, genuine listening takes place and the contact with the students ends in a positive experience for the student. This is consistent with Reidling’s statements about effective communication.

“Verbal skills essential when conducting the reference interview include the following: positive (respectful) responses, motivational words (encourages), verbal reflection, positive reactions, avoiding premature answers, diagnoses (or opinions), restating or paraphrasing content, remembering, open questions, and closure. Talk to the student as if they are important and welcomed; take all questions seriously. (Reidling, 2013, p.102)

Image by Pixabay

Recently, my teacher-librarian demonstrated pro-activeness. I was pleasantly surprised when she approached me wondering if I was interested in collaborating on a project with her and the grade 6 teacher.  The process she used and the attention I experienced relates to the collaborative planning process that Haycock identifies:

• Objectives
• Content
• Sequence
• Methodology
• Activities
• Evaluation (Haycock, 2007, p. 25-35)

The teacher-librarian first verbally explained what the project would entail. She scheduled a planning meeting at a convenient time for me to discuss project objectives, content, relation to the curriculum, work period scheduling, timeline, the activities that the students would participate in and a rubric for assessment. When the time came to start the project, she was prepared with an outline for the students and an activating lesson about how to question appropriately. She provided reference books on the topic and during student work periods she was present to offer the students assistance in sifting through online information. She also offered Website suggestions where the students could find the answer to some of their questions. The TL made herself available to answer student and teacher questions and lastly, to troubleshoot any laptop technical issues. I truly appreciated seeing the process in action. What I really appreciated was that the TL prepared an inquiry project planning sheet for the students to guide them through the inquiry process.

The TL at my school truly is a leader. Her values are evident through her interactions with the students and the quality of collaboration experienced by the teachers. It is evident that she is working towards attaining her vision for the school library and the students. The TL understands the curriculum, the students needs and serves as a great role model for every member in the school.

References

Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. “Reference and the School Library: An Overview.” Reference Skills for the School Library: Tools and Tips, 3rd ed., 2013.

Ken Haycock. “Collaboration: Critical success factors for student learning” School Libraries Worldwide 13.1 (2007): 25-35

Of the many roles of the teacher-librarian, one that holds great importance is providing the students with access to quality reference resources. The teacher-librarian is responsible for keeping the library resource collections up to date and current, evaluating resources regularly, weeding and selecting appropriate resources, developing student research skills and making recommendations. The teacher-librarian is tasked with selecting reference resources that encourage the development of literacy skills. The school library’s reference collection should reach curriculum objectives and learning goals, and encourage critical thinking skills. The process of evaluating and selecting reference resources remains an important aspect of any school library. The focus of this assignment will be to evaluate an existing factbook from my school library and to replace it with a more suitable factbook based on Reidling’s evaluation and selection criteria.

What is a factbook?

Riedling describes factbooks as, “basic reference tools providing basic facts on popular topics such as countries, sports, or time periods. Factbooks are used to quickly answer basic questions about specialized subjects.” (Riedling, 2013, p.37)

Riedling provides the following criteria to guide the process of evaluating and selecting factbooks, directories, almanacs, yearbooks, and handbooks.

Scope

• The source should determine what is covered – organization, geographic areas, individuals, etc.
• The comprehensiveness of the source should be evident within the stated scope.
• The tiles, preface, or introductory materials often give pertinent information.

Currency

• Note the frequency of the publication and how often it is updated.

Accuracy

• This is the most important characteristic of works that present factual information
• Test accuracy by reading reviews, comparing data from different sources, and rely on experts in the field.
• The statistics should be recent and from official, identified sources.

Format

• Entries should be clearly arranged and organized in a logical manner, consistent throughout the source.
• The index in a fact source should be helpful, accurate, and consistent in style and terminology.
• Electronic sources should have an easy-to-use search interface, advanced searching capabilities, and a consistent and easy-to-understand navigation bar. (Reidling, 2013, p.40)

For the purpose of evaluating and selecting reference factbooks, we will use the following rubric based on Reidling’s evaluation and selection criteria.

Evaluation rubric 

Figure 2

Red highlighted criteria describe the Creative Education Inc. factbook set.

Green highlighted criteria describe the DK Smithsonian Super Space factbook.

Yellow highlighted criteria describe both Creative Education and DK Smithsonian factbooks.

The reference resource I will be evaluating is a six-factbook set on the topic of Outer Space created by Michael George and published in 1991 by Creative Education, Inc. There are six reference factbooks in the collection: Mars, The Sun, Stars, The Moon, Space Exploration and Galaxies.

Image by Creative Education Inc.Images, Mars

There are many problems surrounding this set of factbooks. The first being that my school library’s set is incomplete, missing the title Space Exploration. The scope of the information is quite limited. Although the information is somewhat related to the topic, the information provided on the planets is limited to Mars. The factbooks cover some subtopics but they are not elaborated and do not have their own subsections. Students would find it very difficult to find the answers to the questions they are looking for if they had to first read through the entire book. Each book in the set has a short introductory section that includes quotes and some clues as to the book’s topics printed on the inside sleeve. Unfortunately, the quotes are not properly cited and there is no way of knowing who they belong to. In terms of the book sets currency, it was published in 1991. There was been much more information gathered about our universe since this book was published. The information provided is no longer relevant in the year 2020. The set does not produce a bibliography indicating from where the information was taken and no acknowledgments have been made. The set is not easy to use. The layout of the pictures and text boxes do not help the reader locate the information quickly. The information is written in long paragraphs with no separation in the type of information they are providing. One unclear photo covers the whole of each page and there are no smaller images to indicate which topics being covered. There is no index, table of contents or glossary to aid in navigating through the information.

I have chosen a reference resource published by DK Smithsonian in 2019 entitled Super Space to replace the Creative Education Inc. set.

image by DK Smithsonian, 2019, Super Space

 

The scope of the information provided in this book is quite vast. The book explores the solar system, with a section on the planets, the sun, space anomalies, asteroids, and comets just to name a few. The content covers a wide range of topics and subtopics. There are sections about the stars, galaxies, space exploration and the night sky. The information is current and relevant for the year 2020. Each section includes an introductory page which unfortunately could be more extensive and detailed. The information provided is supported by a full page of acknowledgments. The information comes from reliable sources such as NASA, The Smithsonian Centre for Earth and Planetary Studies and The National Air and Space Museum. The manner in which the book is laid out allows the student to easily locate the specific information they are looking for. Each page explores a large topic broken down into smaller topics written in short paragraphs. The table of contents is printed in large type and is colour coded by section. Each section is also colour coded. The titles and subtitles are clearly marked on each page and there isn’t an overwhelming amount of information in each subsection. The text is easy to read and is accompanied by full colour, labeled images, photos or diagrams. The photos are clear and support the information provided on the page. There are an extensive and detailed index and glossary. Another great aspect of this book is that across the top of each page there is a timeline describing the progress of our knowledge of space and space exploration over time. The book is also littered with sections called Fast Facts which offer additional information about the topics. The excellent photos, diagrams, and specific information work together to enhance the student’s comprehension of the topic. This book is meant for students from grades 4 – 7. As my current school houses students from grades 4-8, this would be a perfect addition to our school library.

image by DK Smithsonian, 2019, Super Space

DK Smithsonian Super Space sells for a retail price of $31.99. It can be purchased through McNally Robinson, which is the book supplier that our current teacher-librarian deals with. Through McNally Robinson Book Seller, our school receives a 20% discount. I feel that this book is a great choice and a reasonable price. If would replace five Creative Education Inc. books and create space on the shelf in the 500 section of the library. Having this reference resource in a school library would benefit the students and teachers in answering questions related to outer space. This is consistent with Riedling’s idea of what a good reference resource should be.

“a good reference resource is one that serves to answer a question” (Riedling, 2013, p.17)

The main goal of the teacher-librarian is to offer the resources necessary to encourage the students to develop their literacy skills. Providing quality resources such as DK Smithsonian Super Space, that answer their questions will allow the students to grow in becoming life-long learners.

 

Reidling, Ann Marlow,. Loretta Shake, and Cynthia Houston. Reference Skills for the library media specialist: tools and tips. Worthington, Ohio, 2013

DK Smithsonian, Super Space, DK Publishing, 2019

George, Michael, Images, Mars, Creative Education 1991

George, Michael, Images, The Sun, Creative Education 1991

George, Michael, Images, Stars, Creative Education 1991

George, Michael, Images, The Moon, Creative Education 1991

George, Michael, Images, Galaxies, Creative Education 1991

For Theme 1 in course 467 63C, I found that all the readings and the topics presented in “Reference Skills for the School Librarian” and “Achieving Information Literacy” offered a lot of valuable information for teachers and teacher-librarians about reference resources and the importance of offering quality reference materials and services to teach information literacy. At the moment, I am a not currently working as a teacher-librarian but the Theme 1 topics have provided an incredible amount of useful information that has led me to reflect on my future role as a teacher-librarian, what my library has to offer and how I use it, and areas that I need to improve upon as a teacher.

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The Canadian Association for School Libraries document Achieving Information Literary offered a comprehensive breakdown of the standards of a school library. What was described as an acceptable amount of reference resources sounded reasonable. In my mind, I pictured my school library and I drew upon my knowledge of the collection based on what I had used in my teaching. I imagined that my school library would closely measure up to the standards listed in AIL. With the AIL standards in mind and a list of types of reference resources in hand, I decided to investigate and learn about what my school library had to offer. The experience allowed me to get a clearer picture of the reference resources that were available, which areas of the collection needed to be added or weeded, which types of reference materials were absent from the collection and which area needed the most attention. My school library reached acceptable standards in some areas. I was surprised to see the absence of certain types of reference materials, the currency of the collection and the lack of electronic/digital resources. This led me to think about my vision for my school library and what needs to be accomplished to make it a well-equipped learning space. With this in mind, I also considered the library budget. Riedling offers an extensive list of criteria for evaluating and selecting reference resources. When selecting resources for purchase I can now see the importance of making informed decisions about resources especially when every dollar counts. The American Library Association offers a list of characteristics that would help guide the TL in creating a great school library.

http://www.ala.org/tools/research/librariesmatter/highly-effective-school-libraries-have-common-set-characteristics

I’ve included a few pictures of my school library.

After reading Chapters 2-8 in “Reference Skills for the School Librarian”, and learning about selection and evaluation of the reference collection, I was excited about digging into my school library collection to find materials that needed to be replaced. I was driven with the new-found knowledge of the criteria to evaluate a reference resource and determined to find a suitable replacement. It was relatively easy to find something in my school library that needed to be replaced. What I didn’t realize was how difficult it would be to find new reference resources to replace what I had found. Searching for a replacement took an incredible amount of time. I was able to find some suitable reference resources through the websites provided by Reidling, but I was frustrated that I was unable to take a good look at the books. I had difficulty finding reviews for the books as well. Is this typical when searching for replacements?

Lastly, in learning about the reference and inquiry process, it has become clear to me that this is an area that I need to learn more about. I am interested in finding examples of lessons that would help to guide me through the process and help prepare the student for completing inquiry projects. Through my search, I found the following websites that can serve as a jumping-off point with my grade 4-5 class.

https://www.sciencelessonsthatrock.com/

https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/4-phases-inquiry-based-learning-guide-teachers/

https://www.wabisabilearning.com/blog/inquiry-based-learning-activities

https://online.kidsdiscover.com/10-ideas-for-excellent-inquiry-based-learning

https://www.madlylearning.com/inquiryprojects/

Asselin, Marlene, et al. Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Canadian Association for School Libraries Association, 2006.

Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. “Reference and the School Library: An Overview.” Reference Skills for the School Library: Tools and Tips, 3rd ed., 2013.

Looking forward to reading about all your thoughts and ideas in your theme 1 blog post.

Setting up my blog for my Teacher-Librarian course. I’m new to blogging. This should be fun!